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Quintesson Invasion - 9/3/2013 - Final Battle (Sewer Demoltion)
Log Title: Sewer Demolition Characters: Amperage, Chance, Crush Depth, Waffles Location: Sewers Beneath Los Angeles Date: 9/3/2013 TP: Quintesson Invasion TP Summary: The people of Earth have had enough of the Quintessons. The Bellum, warship of the Quintesson fleet, still dominates the ruined terrain of Los Angeles. The combined forces of Earth's defenders have concocted a daring plan to end the invasion once and for all. To prepare, a demolitions team has been sent in to weaken the foundation around the Spiral's anchor points. Category: Battles category:Quintesson Invasion TP Log A lone Sea ray, outfitted to be a two-seater, sits within one of the flooded drainage canals in Los Angeles. Beside it towers a Hydro-Viper, accompanied by an Eel. Crush Depth's voice speaks quietly through the filter of his mask, his thick German accent further distorted, "Zis Joe had better hurry up. Zese joint operations are alvays askink for trouble..." Moments later the Joe does arrive. It was a coordinated effort, and Tripwire and others were going to be handling other 'target areas' hence why he was on his own. He was fully suited up - no bomb disposal suit, but a little heavier than usual, plus hand weaponry and a rifle, because there was no way to send down support troops with the team. His full-face-mask helmet hung at his hip right now as he hopped the last few steps, eyeing the two vehicles warily as he approached "... CHance reporting for demolitions duty." he stated, working to maintain at least basic courtesy, though his voice was tight. The Hydro-Viper's companion speaks up. "As long as ye know whatcha doin', there be no problem?" she asks with an Irish lilt to her voice, muffled as it is by her mask. "Chance, hmm? 'Spose ye a little lepurchaun? Call me Amperage. The Kraut's name is Crush Depth." Crush Depth looks down at the Joe as he joins the team. His mask disguises the dubious expression, "Wunderbar..." He looks between the Joe and his Eel companion, "Ze target structures are approximately tventy kilometers from zis entrance. Ve suspect zat numerous areas are flooded, vhich is vhy Cobra sent ahs..." He gestures toward Amperage and himself, "Ve vere not sure vhat sort of undervater capabilities ze Joes haf." "I've been issued a rebreather and underwater gear, dry suit etcetera." responds Chance to that, ignoring the look he got From CRush Depth as he waited on the dock beside the vehicles, waiting for permission to come aboard "It'll give me about twenty hours of breath roughly I'm told." he then glances to the woman "No irish that I'm aware of. Canadian-American. Shall we get going? " he had forgone saying pleasure/honor to meet you, he wasnt sure which was appropriate at this time as he shufffled his gear, the Joes' donation to the explosives themselves. "Whatever you say, Chancey." The Eel crosses her arms, and looks up to her companion. "Shall well let 'im aboard, Crush Depth, or should we let the wee fella swim?" Crush Depth looks at the entrance to the sewers, "Not sure ze Sea Ray vould fit to ze target areas. Ve'll leave ze limousine parked out here for now..." He grabs his speargun from an external compartment on the ship's hull and moves toward the sewer entrance. He's not really sure how much good the weapon would to against a Quintesson robot, but better to have it and not need it than... well, you know the rest. The orange water laps against his knees as he steps into the sewer, "Ze eggheads varn us against drinking ze orange vater..." "I wouldnt want to anyways." admits Chance, glancing curiously at the Eel as he moves to follow the larger man down into the water, finding it a little above the knees himself. He adjusts his gear. "What's that supposed to me? " he asked her next as they started into the tunnels. "Aye, I follow yer lead, Crush Depth." Amperage says, retriving her own weapon as she follows the other Cobra. "There's somethin' in da water that makes one sick." she says to the Joe. "Nanomachines, killin' bacteria - sterilizin' da ocean." The team goes relatively unharassed for a good hour, save for the occassional starving rat. There is no sign of Quintesson interference. Finally the first target area appears, a large support structure within a cistern. Crush Depth checks the waterproofed tablet on his forearm, "Zis looks like our first objective..." " I meant about 'whatever you say, chancey'." he explained to her further, but also dropped it, slinging his rifle into his hands. He was in the back, but that hardly meant he would be the least one to see action. He remained quiet during the trip down as well and glances up at the cistern, nodding "You want the honors of going first or me?" he asked Depth Charge. "T' be honest, I trust ye 'bout as far as I kin toss ol' Crush Depth, here, but..." The Eel surghs. "Whatever he says, I'll support." Crush Depth turns to regard Chance, "You are ze expert at surface demolitions, ja? Ve'll let you take zis vone..." The Hydro-Viper knows his explosives, but he was told to cooperate in the planet's best interests. "In all fairness, Amperage, remember when it comes to trust, you guys currently out number me" points out Chance simply. He nods at Cruch Depth and slings his rifle back onto his back. He circles the cistern and the support column, selecting the best spot to do so, choosing a little corner, tucked out of the way, above the water line (In case those Nanos recognise explosives) and starts to set it, using a small punch drill to make a hole into the concrete and insert some of the epxlosives into it, the full intention being to crack the thing in half completely. He worked as quickly as he could, face anxious, worried about doing it right. Then he sets the timer on it as intended - three hours, which gave the group (if everything goes to plan) more than enough time to get in and, hopefully, get out. Crush Depth observes the Joe's procedures, comparing it to those taught be Cobra. He makes a couple mental notes, but doesn't vocalize it. Once Chance has finished his work, he gathers the group together again, "Wunderbar. Let us move along..." Thumps echo through the sewers, indicating the sounds of Sharkticons marching overhead, "...before zis place gets too crowded, ja?" Chance glances up as well at that, furrowing his brow anxiously as he nods "No arguments with that." he had noted the look, and only hoped CD would say something if he did something really bad. He pulled out the map as well to ensure they were on the right course, as well as mark out an escape route - although he did NOT mark off the location of the explosives. In case the map was lost. "Aye, let's get a movin'." Amperage says, falling in step behind Crush Depth. She was here just in case she was needed. A faint glow surrounds her as she hears the Sharkticons over head. "Hom many more sites?" Crush Depth checks the tablet on his forearm, "Sieben." He doesn't bother translating, a little too focused on the mission. The next goal leads the team to a low tunnel, the water coming up to chest-height on the tall Hydro-Viper, "Zere is a side tunnel mit a structural support halfvay down zis tunnel. Ze room is most likely flooded..." Chance peers curiously at Amperage as they wade along, the man struggling at times to keep up. He grit his teeth against his not-quite-healed hip injury from the assault on the Pit, though wasn't about to complain about it either. A Gloved hand just drops to rub at the spot whenever they pause though as he calculates the estimated time and number of targets. As the water grew deeper, he started to half-swim, the gear helping keep from being swept away. A nod, and before they got wet inside he slipped the rebreather, goggles and other things on for this next section, giving a thumbs up of readiness. Amperage notes Chance's glance, and grins, holding up a hand and creating a small bit of static electricity. "Aye, tis why they call me Amperage." she says, a smirk on her voice behind her mask. She peers down the side tunnel. "I will go an' help da Joe on this one." she says, diving into the water gracefully. Crush Depth clicks his radio, to make sure that everyone hears him, "I vill meet you two at ze next objective..." Chance's map would show it to be about two hundred meters down the tunnel, and twelve meters west of the next junction. Chance ahs through the rebreather and nods in undrstanding of Amperage. If he had questions he would ask them later. He nods at Crush Depth, and moves to wade after Amperage. He could bob up to the survace when he wanted to, but there wasnt much clearance in places and so he mostly stayed under, trying to see through the murk and calculate distance in his head. When he judges the about place where the turn off was, a hand reached out to tap Amperage underwater to alert her. Amperage wasn't having as much trouble seeing as Chance was; her enhancements let her see better in murky waters. She taps the Joe's hand back, and swims ahead, moving extremely gracefully underwater. Finally reaching the spot, he taps once more, just using a simple 'two or three' tap system to get her to stop. He surfaces and looks around warily, just in case something may be lurking that wanted to eat him... Amperage surfaces smoothly, looking around. "Quiet, too quiet." she complains. "Where are da monsters?" She chuckles, swimming over to the support pillar. "I keep watch while ye work, aye?" The water seems devoid of life, even the typical sewer denizens. The support structure is, indeed, submerged. Chance nods at Amperage, speaking quietly "Remember when the rest is quiet, that means they can hear US." as he finally pulls out the rebreather "Good idea. I think under the water is the best place here. It'll take me a few minutes." he notes and pulls out his gear, preparing as much as he could above-water before resettling the breather to duck back under once more. "Don't rush; we only get one shot at this aye? Then we contend with security." The Eel comments as Chance readies his equipment. "I do nae like anyone of this, Chancey." The sounds of splashing echoe from down the corridor, but it lasts only for a moment. Likely a piece of debris knocked loose from the tromping of robotic feet above. "Even if one of these fail to go off, we'll still have a good chance of knocking the Spire down." explains Chance "At least three of these spots are 'just in case' to make sure it works..." he cuts off abruptly, waiting siently before continuing "Just in case. Courtesy of the redundant department of redundancy department." he explains "Okay. Back in five then." the rebreather is in, and he dissapears to crouch down - not really having to swim yet, but he worked carefully. Underwater explosives setting was NOT yet on his certification. Tripwire would be proud at his progress no doubt. .oO(Just like above water, only wetter) Amperage stays on her guard, her bio-electricity tightly reined in as to not accidentally shock Chance - or set off the explosives prematurely. She's quiet, using all of her senses to look for trouble. The operation so far remains uncontested. So signs of opposition, no sounds of approaching enemies. After five minutes, Chance reemerges and puffs a few times, not pulling out the rebreather as he thumbs up to her, then guestures. Time to move on. They now had 2.5 hours left. Amperage nods once, slipping underwater almost silently. She takes the lead again, swimming back to the main tunnet. Chance follows once more, although he seemed to be slowing down a bit further as they reach the main tunnel. There, he asks "continue to the next or wait for Crush Depth?" "He's waitin' at de next site." Amperage says plainly. "We have no time for dallyin' aye?" She peers at Chance. "Ye havin' some troubles, sweetheart?" she asks. Chance licks his lips, hesitating a moment, then says "We had a Quint infiltrator at the Pit. I had responded while carrying my full gear. He fired elctricity at me and it triggered one of my grenades on my belt. I'm still recovering." he explained finally, then added "Let's go. we gotta catch up." and started forwards again, this time leaving his face free until they got to another deep spot. "...Ouch." Amperage says, sounding a bit sympathetic. She does file the information away, though. "Crush should be up ahead, follow me." At the next deep spot, she dives under, swimming ahead without waiting for Chance. The next target site is actually at the base of one of the Bellum's stabilizing claws. There's a string of charges encircling a portion of wall where the Quintesson structure has breached it. The water here is only about thigh-height for the two operatives. However, there's no sign of Crush Depth. "Yeah. Very ouch. Hot tip: a folded Kevlar shirt tucked between the belt and the body can literally be a lifesaver." he adds. he had one on now actually. He fell silent as they moved, and followed, mostly 'walking' along the bottom with the weight of his gear. As he surfaced and started to wade out again he stared up at it, somewhat fascinated "If this wasn't War of the Worlds: 21st Century edition, this would be almost fascinating and not as terrifying. Where's your buddy?" Amperage looks around, a faint glow surrounding her again. "Well shite." she says. "Get the explosives set." she instructs. She switches on her radio. <"Dev, where are you?"> Chance nods "Yes ma'am'." he responds automatically, a moment later cringing with a weak chuckle at how well trained he was as he moves towards the claw itself, eyeing it carefully "... not sure if I can punch into that. I'll work on the area around it instead." he decides finally and kneels, using an extra dose at this rather important part, the punch making a small BANG sound as it went into the concrete tunnel and he began to plant the charges. There's no response, aside from a slightly agitated rippling in the water, coming from further down the tunnel ahead. Amperage feels the shifting current, and her eyes narrow as she readies her harpoon gun. "I think we might have troubles, Chancey." she says. "Finish with those explosives, quickly!" She starts slowly heading down the tunnel where the agitation came from, sending out weak electric currents as a sort of sonar in the water. "You can't rush things that can blow up in your face, 'Ample'" he was perhaps getting a little irritated at the pet name. "I'm going as fast as I can without killing us all prematurely. " Without further warning, Crush Depth is suddenly ejected from beneath the surface, hurled down the tunnel by an Allicon. As he stands up, it becomes clear that he's lost his harpoon gun. He does, however, have a wicked knife in each hand. Energon runs down from one of the Allicon's optics. Looks like Crush got in a good hit. "I'm glad ye like my bosom, Chancey." Amperage quips, chuckling despite the situation. She would tease the Joe more, but Crush Depth makes his surprise appearance. "Crusher!" she yelps, rushing forward to assist him. She jabs forward with the harpoon gun, hoping to nail the Allicon's other optic. Chance is about to respond about the uncertainties of flirting with the enemy under pressure when the giant man bursts out of the water. He jumped, and looked up, staring. "... Oh jeebus." he dropped his gaze again to continue working, putting his pack down by the explosives to 'shield' it. The pack that was NOT explosive itself mind you as he moved around the claw to wire the charges together with sturdy cabling, and extra cables. "Almost done!" The Allicon roars as the spear strikes home, shattering the surface of the optic. It begins to thrash wildly, now completely blinded. Crush Depth climbs back to his feet, a sizable gash in the upper thigh of his suit coming into view. He takes stock of Amperage's handiwork, "Nice shot..." He sheaths both knives, "But zis mechanicl brute could be problematic for us..." Cracking his knuckles, he starts moving back toward the creature. "Ah, thanks!" Amperage relies to the compliment, and she's probably blushing slightly under that mask. She backs away from the thrashing beast. "Be careful about closin' in on it!" She readies her harpoon gun again. "Chancey, get those charges done!" she shouts, aiming to spear the metal monster where it's 'heart' should be. The Allicon's chest is a bit more armored than the optics are, and the harpoon glances off. Crush Depth steps in as the creature roars, planting one hand on the upper jaw and the other on the lower jaw. If this were a Sharkticon, his hands would be bitten off right about now. Luckily, it's smaller and not as strong. Still, it's a challenge for the strong Cobra. He calls over his shoulder, holding the Allicon's jaws open, "Amperage! Charge!" "Almost done... ahah!" Chance was behind the claw at this point as he grabs up his pack and loops it over his head, working to pull a grenade from his belt as he jogs around the claw now to join the others, slowing as he sees what was going on, eyes widening. A pause. To throw and possibly kill the Cobra, or not to throw... "Right!" Amperage says, pulling a grenade off her belt. With a practiced motion, she unpins the explosive and lobs it at the Allicon's open maw. "Fire in de hole!" she hollers. Chance looks at Amperage, and decides if SHE was willing to, so was he! He pulls the pin and tosses it a split moment after her, and then puts hands over his ears. Crush Depth hears the clanks of two different grenades landing in the wide-open maw. He yanks his hands free and the jaws snap shut. Now, a smart person would run. But this is a crazy German. He reaches in and holds the jaws shut, hoping that this Allicon is similar to earth alligators, insofar as the muscles to open the jaws are much weaker. Not that Allicons have muscles. Amperage might be a crazy Irishwoman, but even she think's Crush Depth's being a bit foolish. "Crusher, you're a wee bit out of your gourd aren't ye?" she asks, laughing. Chance eeh "And they call me crazy for jumping out of a helicopter onto a grenade over a flood zone." *WHUMP-WHUMP* There are two thumps, and suddenly the Allicon stops struggling. Smoke begins to leak out from between the interlocking teeth. That Crush Depth is one baaad muthah. Amperage chuckles. "That worked out well aye?" she gives a thumbs up. "We still got work t' do, though, so no pattin' ourselves on de back yet. Good work there, Chancey." "It did yeah. Good throw. "Compliments Chance as he drops his hands from his ears. HE checks his watch "One and three quarter hours left. Let's go, we still have more to get to and then get out." Crush Depth brushes his hands clean as he lets the Allicon drops, "Jawohl. Let us move before more of zese beasts show up..." He moves down the tunnel to a five-way junction, checking his map. He points to the second tunnel on the right, "Zere is anuzzah support structure twenty meters zat vay." Chance jogs along behind the other two, dripping water as he went. He nods as they reach the junction, nodding. "Let's do it then." he says, moving to head down first this time, deciding it was something they should 'take turns' at. Amperage nods, following the Joe as he heads down another tunnel. "I'll be glad when all of this is over with." the Eel says, actively looking for any trouble. Chance states "Me too. On the other hand you know I wish we could work TOGETHER more than against each other normally. You'd think after how many 'ok, let's stop killing each other to kill the enemy trying to exterminate us' we'd get the hint. " he remarks as he slows, pausing to glance about the tunnel. This one was rather dark, powerless. Amperage chuckles. "Aye, I could get to like you Chancey. Yer a fine fella." She concentrates, using her bio electricity to illuminate the tunnel. "But, we're far from norma folk. Most fine us unsettlin'." Crush Depth doesn't bring up how much fun he has fighting the Joes, recognizing such a statement as being counterproductive a the moment. The group comes upon the next support structure. It's close to the anchor point of the Bellum, but going up against that portion of the structure would also be counterproductive. He looks to the other two, and points down a tunnel to the left, "Ze next support claw is zat vay. I'll set ze charges on zis support." Chance states "Perhaps, but obviously when it comes to Bigger Issues we don't care that much." he notes as he looks about warily. While Crush Depth could handle an Allicon, he wasn't too sure he could. He looks at Crush Depth and nods, then looks at Amperage. With me or him? " he asked her, leaving the choice in her hands. Amperage looks to Crush Depth, and then to Chance. "Crusher, if ye see a 'nother of those beasties, call fer help!" she says, lightly scolding her superior. "I'll look after de Joe here." She nods to Chance. "Lead da way." Chance smirks a little bit, but not in an ungrateful way as he turns to jog this time down the corridor, wanting to make up for lost time on the counter as fast as he could. "We're still ahead of schedule, but the sooner the better. " he explained to her on the way "If we're in these tunnels, even a distance away when they go off... well, you know how a gun works right?" "Of course; I /am/ a soldier, Chancey." Amperage says dryly. "An' I know what'll happen if we're in da tunnels when da charges go off. I am not stupid." The Eel's bioelectric light fluctuates a bit, reacting to her emotions. Crush Depth runs his hand along the support beam, sensors in the suit sounding out for weak spots, The advantage of this sort of work is that it doesn't have to be precise as urban demolition. He takes a charge from his belt, strapping it to a portion of the beam that's been a little more effected by age and the weight above. The timer was already activated, to make sure his charges were synchronized with Chance's. As for the other pair, the water seems to be receding. By the time they come upon the support claw, the floor of the tunnel is barely damp. Chance nods "Yeah. We're in a giant gun barrel right now. At least there's no bullets though." he remarks as he continues along "No offense meant. Some people just don't think of it that way. I know I didn't until Tripwire pointed out things to me in training. " they reach the spot, and he drops to his knees to work quickly and efficiently. Punch, insert, wire it up. He uses three charges totally here as calculated. "There. That's done. We're almost done." he notes as he stood with a sigh, still looking anxious "I want to say I'm hopeful but then I would jinx it huh." Chance says, "What's your first name?" "Can never be too careful." Amperage says, watching Chance work. "Keep yer sprirts up Chancey; yer doing good work for a greenie." She pauses, and looks at Chance for a moment. She removes her helmet, revealing green eyes and ginger hair tied into a braid. "Name's Pat; what's yers?" her tone is friendly; she likes Chance, for now. "Mike. Not a Greenshirt anymore though but thanks." he notes, knowing she meant it as a compliment as they headed back to the meeting point. HE paused again, hearing water dripping from somewhere, but decides its just a drainage pipe leaking a little bit. His own helmet was off as well - easier to see what he was doing, and he had close-shaved blonde hair and blue eyes. The dripping comes from the Hydro-Viper as he catches up with the group. His mask is still on, largely because he doesn't want to reveal his face to any Joe. (Not like his size and accent wouldn't be a dead giveaway.) His voice filters through the mask, "No problems?" Amperage chuckles. "Mike aye? Seems a bit dull of a name for a bomber." she jokes. She winks and flashes a bright smile. She turns to look back at Crush Depth. "Ay, Crusher, no problems." she confirms. Chance shakes his head "Nope. Went smooth as silk." he smirked at Amperage "Why do you think I go with 'Chance'? It makes people wary of me usually." he quipped simply. "We've one hour left, a little less. That's five targets we've hit so far." Crush Depth nods to Chance, "Jawohl. Just two more. Plenty uhf time." He looks around, checking his tablet. He points down the middle tunnel, "Ze next target is zis vay. Vone last support, und anuzzah cistern." Amperage replaces her helmet on her head, tucking her braid up and under. "Don't talk like that, Crusher." she says, sounding nervous. "Whenever someone says, 'plenty of time', that is when we run out of time." The Irishwoman grumbles. "Ye might not be superstitious, but I am!" "Sounds good. If I recall, the way out is on the far side as well, so no need to back track where we've been." he notes "Tally ho then, gents and ladies?" Chance asks, gesturing down the tunnel for who leads this time as he pulls his own helmet on. "I'll take the cistern if you want the claw." Crush Depth looks to Amperage, then back to Chance, "Sehr gut." He heads off down the tunnel, "Amperage, you help mit ze claw. It vill make se vork go qvicker, ja?" "Aye, I'll help!" Amperage says, glancing at Chance. "Be careful, ye hear? Yer cute an' I like ye!" She turns back and follow Crush Depth down the tunnel. "Sir Gut? " asks Chance. He was good at deciphering most of what Crush Depth meant to say, but that one escaped him entirely as he works to keep up helmet turning this way and that. At her comment, he straightened a little, but thanked the helmet that his blush could not be seen! He waved instead to both. Crush Depth corrects Chance, sounding it out phonetically, "Zehr goo-tah." And then the translation, as best he can manage with his accent, "Zat ist goot." Amperage chuckles. "Aye; Crusher's English is a bit hard to understand, sometimes." She chuckles. Chance ahhs and nods "I get it now. See you soon at the exterior rendezvous point." just in case something happened after all. He turned and headed down the corridor to the cistern, his rifle now swung back into position. Crush Depth moves off down the other branch to the next support claw. He thinks himself incredibly courteous for even bothering to speak English around others. His and Amperage's target is about thirty meters down the tunnel, in the center of a wide-open room, "Ze floor vill need to be blown for zis vone." "Understood." Amperage says. She looks at her superior for a moment, thinking. "I will take the left hand side, aye?" Without waiting for a con formation, she gets to work, laying charges down carefully. Chance heads down his own tunnel, moving at a brisk walk pace but also with due caution, turning on the 'flashlight' attached to his rifle to help him see. He had the rebreather on as well, in case of having to 'get out and no time to prepare' and other things too as he pauses, peering into the final cistern chamber carefully. Then he steps in. The final cistern isn't the only thing in the chamber. A pair of Allicons have taken it upon themselves to wander aimlessly into this portion of the sewers. And the light has attracted their attention... With a soft curse into his helmet, Chance snaps the light off and steps back, but also in the dark, instinctively grasps up a grenade. He listened for sounds ,trying to gauge when they would be the right distance along and... Pulls the pin and rolls the grenade into the chamber. As if Allicons weren't enough, the sounds of a battle on the streets above have started to filter down into the sewers. "Dammit, the Joe's in trouble..." Amperage grumbles. "I knew this was goin' too easy!" She finishes laying her charges down. "Crusher, should I go an' help the fella?" Crush Depth finishes lay his own charges and checks the timer on his tablet, "Ve must be qvick. Less zan tventy minutes to go..." He draws both his knives and charges down the tunnel. Amperage dashes after Crush Depth, her harpoon gun at the ready. She says something under her breath. "Joe, hang on fella, we're comin' t' save ye!" The shrapnel rips into the Allicons' armor. However, it's not as effective as being inside an Allicon's mouth. The creatures seem dazed, but still standing. Chance hears the sounds indeed, and was a little thankful - as it meant that his own grenade going off may not be noticed in the din! He clicks the light on again and sees that they were stunned, but not entirely down yet. Getting an idea, he rips the flashlight off his gun and puts it down on the ground, and turns it on... spinning it. Hoping that worked as a distraction, he turned to bolt right past the Allicons in a daring and perhaps, somewhat Idiotic move, dropping another grenade as he ran and dove for the cistern, realizing then that this was perhaps, too foolish even for him. Crush Depth is just a few meters down the corridor when he sees the flashlight spinning. The light catches the sight of two charging Allicons and he stops in his tracks. That's when he hears the click of a grenade being pulled. He reaches out a hand to catch Amperage before she can charge further down the corridor, throwing himself (and hopefully the Eel) to the deck as it detonates! Chance doesn't wait to see if the two allicons are down. He ducks behind the cistern and starts to work quickly, hoping to at least have bought enough time "Please let them eat me instead of capture me..." he mutters as the puncher blasts a hole at his feet. It was a rough job, and he would have redone it. But right now he wasn't going to worry too much about perfection as the charge is dropped in, wiring tangling a little bit. He listened carefully all the while. "Wha-?!" Amperage starts to ask, before hitting the deck with Crush Depth. "Oh boy..." She sighs, waiting for the explosion to clear before getting back up, her bioelectric field flaring slightly. "We don't have time for this!" she cries out. She charges in, her altered eyes allowing her to see the Allicons. She stabs at the optic of the closest one, grimacing. She was prepared to die, for the sake of the world... didn't mean she liked the idea! Crush Depth feels the tingle down his arm as Amperage's field flares up. The smaller Cobra is much lighter on her feet than he is, and it takes him just a couple seconds longer to regain his footing. Seeing his companion taking one of the wounded Allicons on her own, he charges in. Ducking around Amperage's back, he moves in to tangle with the second Allicon. He risks a glance at the timer on his tablet, "Ten minutes!" "I know! I'm working! Get going and I'll meet you there when I'm done!" calls out the Joe, thinking he was talking to him. Wiring done, explosives set. Taped down (so they wouldn't move if someone kicked them later). Grabbing up the rest of his gear, the flashlight finally stops spinning as he steps out from around the cistern "Done! Let's go!" Just then, there's a horrendous tearing sound. Dust and tiny pieces of stone fall down from the ceiling as cracks spiderweb from a spot near the tunnel entrance, almost directly overtop of the two Cobra. Amperage finds herself getting pinned by the now enraged Allicon. "Back off, beastie." she growls, putting a hand out and zapping the machine with an intense bolt of electricity. She backs away from the stunned beast. "Let's go!" she says. As the ceiling cracks, she looks up, and shakes in fear, just slightly. "Shite! Crusher, c'mon we gotta move it now!" Crush Depth jams one of his knives up into the servo at the corner of the Allicon's jaw, disabling the joint from moving. He steps back from the machine as the crack above spreads, calling, "Time to go, Joe!" Larger chunks of the ceiling start to crumble, a huge chunk caving in the cranial chamber of the Allicon that Amperage was wrestling with. Chance glances up as well, skidding to a halt as the bits of stone start to crumble between him and the exit now. His eyes widen and he looks across to the two Cobras "Get going! I'll go around the other way. Seven minutes!" he turned to run down the corridor that led past the cistern room, the opposite way they had entered. "... See you there I hope." he muttered, now flat out going. "Ye better make it, Chancey!" Amperage yells at the retreating Joe, before backing up herself. "C'mon Dev, let's go!" With that, she starts racing to the exit, footfalls echoing in the tunnels. Crush Depth falls in behind Amperage, being just a bit slower than the smaller Cobra, "Gluck, Joe!" (Pronounced like 'Glook.') He calls to Amperage, "Side tunnel on ze left! Zere's a pipe zat runs deeper!" Chance had to slow after a few dozen meters, puffing heavily. He dropped most of his gear there, to lighten up his load and pulled out the map, using a smaller flashlight. He hadn't memorized all the exits, but nodded and turned to jog along. "When that last blast goes, its going to come right down here." as her ran, he tightened his helmet's seals a little bit, especially the built-in ear protectors to protect his hearing, and put in the rebreather. Now faster and less encumbered he ran faster, the pipe looping to the ri-Wait, that wasn't right. It was supposed to go straight. "F***." he followed it anyways, glancing down. "Two minutes. The entrance should have been here by now..." he puffed, and just kept going. "Aye!" Amperage replies, making the sharp turn with ease. "Ye just HAD to say we had plenty of time!" she curses as she runs. Her electric field fluctuates wildly. Crush Depth breaks into a sprint, moving on ahead of Amperage. To show her the right path, he dives into water that appears to be only ankle-deep, disappearing beneath the surface. His voice comes over the radio this time, "Haf to keep sings lively, ja?" "Damn Kraut." Amerage mutters, diving in after Crush Depth. She replies over the radio, <"Ye owe me for this, Dev!"> Finally, Chance growled as he slowed to a halt. The entrance was nowhere in sight. The map was WRONG. He muttered a curse about Urban Planners and Developers, in French, and clicked on his radio finally "This map was wrong. Going to find something to shield myself from the blast." he turned, spotting a side tunnel. His heart was racing, knowing EXACTLY what was coming. He did some mental calculations. At least he wasn't in the 'fall zone' o the Spire when it came down. A side corridor, and an old maintenance room. It was like a refrigerator against a nuclear bomb, but it was better than nothing as he pushed the rickety old door open and shut it behind him. One minute left. HE put what he could against the door, moved into the corner beside it and dropped to his backside, pulling up into as small a ball as possible. "Corridor 159 was the one on the map that's wrong. That's the way I went. Remember that-" Then it started. A brief, distant THUMP, followed by what could have been mistaken for a groan. Then a closer one, the sound louder and now more of a rumble, joining into the still-continuing original sounds. matching ones all on the west side of the Spire went off in a rippling effect, intending to unbalance the spire and tip it into the ocean itself as they came again and again. Finally, the one last placed at Crush Depths' claw went off, a deafening THUD that went through the water they were in, like someone punched you in the chest, and at the same time the Cistern went off as well nearby. Above-water, it blew out more noisily and fast, sending a concentrated blast of blown air outwards down the tunnels, that narrowed and focused the blast as it screamed through the underground, shaking loose centuries of dirt, muck and scum off the walls, cracking concrete and deafening a good number of sewer rats and lost cats on its' way. The water then swayed, pulling back before, like an incoming tsunami, began to rise up and push outwards from the blast zones, filling the tunnels with a 'ripple' of orange water. Crush Depth managed to dive deep into the pipe before the blasts went off, settling onto the floor of a parallel tunnel about ten meters below. He spots Amperage swimming by and reaches out to grab her ankle and yank her down. Regardless of whether he succeeds, he kneels down, practically curling into a ball, bracing for the shockwave. If that demolition charge had been closer and underwater, he'd probably become chunky salsa at this distance. However, he should be safe at this point. And hopefully Amperage caught the hint, too. Just to be safe, he speaks over the radio, "Detonation coming, Trish. Get down." "I know Dev!!" Amperage yelps, trying to swim downwards to where Crush Depth is. "Shite!" The concussion waves hits, sending her tumbling in the water. She yelps a bit, her bioelectric field pulsing, not enough to harm Crush Depth but noticeable. Chance himself had braced, feeling more than hearing the first of the impacts. He closed his eyes in his helmet and counted off the seconds. It was, as they said 'the anticipation of the pain is worse than the actual pain'. With the shockwave travelling further and more powerfully through the air than through the water though, he was in for the worse as the door abruptly blew in as though a hurricane force, scattering the debris all over as it slammed into the room, the entire world turning into simply a wall of roaring sound, like being in an earthquake under a waterfall on one of those 'rumble seats' you find in some theatres. His body was thrust back despite his position, the helmet's visor cracking from the force and all breath forced out of his chest as he wheezed under the pressure and slumped down, radio tumbling from his fingers as he felt like he was being crushed. Underwater, it was mercifully not quite as bad, the water continuing to rush by quickly, compressing in an incoming wave that was weaker, and gravelled further. Within less than five minutes, the worse was over, though there was still crashing and rumbling as parts continued to collapse. Crush Depth hears the yelp in his headset. He waits until the shockwave has passed before going to Amperage, though. Kicking off the floor of the pipe, he moves to make sure nothing cracked and fell on his companion. Amperage was luckier that Chance, perhaps; all she has is a crushed leg. But she's trapped underwater. "Sorry Dev... I got careless." she manages out, trying to free her leg. Crush Depth settles onto the floor of the tunnel beside Amperage, kneeling down beside her, "Consider zis a lesson painfully learned..." It's a good thing for the Eel that he's so damn strong. His webbed hands grip the underside of the chunk of tunnel and, lifting with his legs (Safety First!), he moves the chunk of stone off of Amperage's leg. "Very painful." The Irishwoman agrees. As soon as her leg's free, she kicks with her good one and uses her arms, rising to the surface. And soon as she breaks the surface, she lifts off her helmet, drifting to the shallows. "Shite... Did de Joe make it?" If he did or not, he isn't speaking on the radio at this moment. Crush Depth drifts up to the surface beside the Eel, "I did not see him. He vent down a different tunnel..." He moves into the shallows as well, stepping out onto dry... sewer. He offers Amperage a hand to assist her. "Danke." Amperage manages a grin, despite her pain. She'll be in agony in about half an hour, once the adrenaline wears off. She takes Crush Depth's hand gratefully, standing up on her one good leg. "...Please tell me it was all worth it..." Crush Depth doesn't bother asking permission. He kneels down, placing his shoulder down near Amperage's hip, and lifts her up in a fireman's carry. He continues down the tunnel, "Judging from ze sounds of explosions above, it sounds like a success. If not, wir werden gefickt." "Woah!" Amperage blinks as Crush Depth picks her up. "Thanks, Dev..." She pauses, and frowns. "Translation, Crusher? Unless ye said, 'we're screwed', I don't know what ye said." Crush Depth's voice comes through his mask's filter, "Zat's pretty close..." "Ah, well, de only why t' know fer sure is t' go op top an' check." Amperage says. "We should go look before we say we're fecked." Crush Depth carries Amperage out of the tunnels. It's about a kilometer away, so it takes some time, but finally they find their way back out into the drainage canal. The Sea Ray isn't within sight, but they did have to take an alternate route. As for the city, it's no longer dominated by the sight of the Quintesson Spiral. Fires blaze throughout the city. "We... We actually did it!" Amperage says, first sounding incredulous, and then joyful. "Bloody Hell, but we actually put a stick in de bastards' eyes!" She can't help but grin. And then grimace, as her leg pain makes itself well know. "Shite... Dev, how bad's me leg?" Crush Depth looks at the blood starting to stain the wetsuit, but he doesn't mention that. He turns and starts in the direction of the Sea Ray, "Short of stripping dein vet suit off, zere's no vay to tell..." A joint crew of GI Joes and Cobras were just now arriving to pick up the demolitions team, looking quite victorious and jovial themselves, despite being on different sides. One Greenshirt joe grins as he hops down "nice work... where's Chance? " he asked, noting the third missing crewman. "Strip off me wet suit anyday, Dev." Amperage says with a shaky grin, winking at him. "Ye know how I feel." She winces, and looks over at the assembling Joes. She frowns slightly, looking at the Greenshirt. "He... got trapped in de tunnels." she says, sounding rather sad about the fact. "'M sorry..." Crush Depth might have been about to respond to Amperage, but the Joes show up. He doesn't sound at all apologetic as he talks to them. In fact, he sounds almost casual, "Ze battle above caved in a portion of ze tunnel und separated us." The man looked pensive, the festive mood cooling a little bit. Waffles (That's what his shirt says) nods simply "We'll find him. He could have still made it out or to a safe zone. Thanks for the update. " he notes to both. "Want a first aid kit?" "I need a Medi-Viper." Amperage says, gritting her teeth a bot. "Think me leg's broke. Crusher, put me down so we can get a look-see!" Crush Depth looks around at the fetid water in the drainage canal, "Lets get you somevhere cleaner first..." He moves toward one of the steep sides of the canal and begins to climb, "Don't vant you getting infected after all, ja?" "Aye, aye, just hurry it up Kraut." Amperage says irritatedly; obviously the pain's getting worse. "And aye, any medic'd be nice, just so long as they know how t' fix a leg..." "Right. We'll get a spot set up when you get up here!" notes Waffles, standing on the road above as he disappears, them using the back-door of the truck/jeep as a temporary medical bed, complete with someone's shirt used as a pillow for her. Crush Depth brings Amperage up to the back of the truck, laying her gently down in the back. If there weren't other Joes around, he'd probably peel his own mask off. As it is, he continues to look monstrous and intimidating. He helps to expose the Eel's injured leg, working it as gently as he can out of the wet suit. The field doctor uses some scissors to cut the material away and inspect the leg, frowning a little bit as he works. Water was offered to both of them as well as A few others in wetsuits descend down to go and backtrack in hopes of finding Chance "Where did you see Chance last? " asked Waffles as the medic hums "Looks like a compound fracture... will need X-rays to be sure, unless you wanted to amputate." he joked a little bit, and starts setting up some quick stitches to keep her from bleeding out, sterilize the wound and apply a light brace so it wouldn't move. Amperage's helmet falls from her grip as she's laid down. "Shite..." She closes her eyes in pain, taking a few rapid deep breaths. "Shite, but that hurts like a mother..." She almost whimpers in pain. "No, no, please don't take my leg...." Crush Depth looks down to the tablet as the medic asks about Chance's last known location. He doesn't look up at the word amputate, but he does speak up, again almost casually, "You take her leg und I take yours." He brings up the map of the sewer, showing it to the doctor, "Zis is ze last place ve saw Chance." "Errm, I'm joking ma'am. I would only do it if your leg was in a lot worse condition or well and truly expired." he promises, looking up at Crush Depth quite nervously, realizing his joke was perhaps, out of line. "I've got painkiller, just wanted to make sure you didn't lose all your blood first. Waffles looks at the map, and with permission takes out his own pad to take a picture of it to send to the rescue teams. If not, he quickly sketches it out "Thanks. We'll see if we can find him. " "Shite it hurts..." Amperage says again. "Sharp, stabbin' pain. Like someone's stickin' sewin' needles into me leg, an' then wigglin' them." "That's pretty much what I'm doing, but Its almost done." a tug, a pinch, and it was done. He then offers some pills and water. "Its all I got right now really, it'll take a bit to kick in. I'm putting ice on it to numb it now though" Crush Depth allows the picture to be taken. Intel made sure there was no classified information on the tablet before issuing it to him. He leans in and places a webbed hand on Amperage's shoulder, "Wie gest es Ihnen?" She's probably spent enough time around Crush Depth to know that's German for, "How are you?" "Nicht Gut..." Amperage replies with a grimace, looking up at Crush Depth as she gratefully takes the painkillers. She swallows hem with one large gulp of water. She had managed to pick up a few words of German from hanging around the larger man for so long. "You?" The medic nods and finishes with a small ice pack and gentle bandages until she could get better treatment as Waffles walks off to start searching not only for Chance but others. Crush Depth the shoulder a squeeze, a gesture of camaraderie rather than outright affection, "Good enough to take you home. Shall ve go?" "Get in to see a doc and X-rays as soon as you can miss." notes the field medic, studiously not reacting to any signs of affection "He should be able to give you a briefing from there. Amperage smiles. "Aye, home." she says, tapping the hand on her shoulder with her fingertips, definitely an affectionate gesture. "Shall I hobble all de way back?" she asks with a slight chuckle. The doctor, frowns and turns to depart once he was done, shrugging a little at lack of thanks. Crush Depth chuckles, the mask turning it a strange gurgling noise, "Out of ze qvestion." He reaches down and lifts the Eel in his arms, holding her in front of him this time rather than the fireman's carry, "Ze Sea Ray avaits." Amperage grins a bit, laying her head against Crush Depth's chest. She looks tired, but a small smile is on her face. ""m gonna sleep now, 'kay Crusher?" she asks him. D'awwwww Crush Depth sets Amperage into the back seat of the Sea Ray as gently as he can before slipping into the pilot's seat. The hatch comes down, sealing with a soft hiss. He engages the craft's engines, the stealth systems humming quietly. Cobra Island, and it's superior (albeit experimental) medical facilities await. Category:2013 Category:Logs